Dishforth Parish Council

Welcome to our Finance and Documents Page

 

Finance:

As part of the Parish Council’s commitment to openness and transparency, the following  documents can be viewed at the bottom of this page:

Dishforth Financial Regulations  2023 -2024: 

Are reviewed and approved (resolution) by the Parish Council on an annual basis. For the year 2023 -2024 the Financial Regulations were approved at the PC meeting which was held on the 28th of March 2024 The Financial Regulations govern the conduct of financial management by the council and may only be amended or varied by resolution of the Parish Council.

The Parish Council is responsible in law for ensuring that its financial management is adequate and affective and that the council has a sound system of financial control which facilitates the effective exercise of the council’s functions, including arrangements for the management of risk and for the prevention and detection of fraud and corruption. These Financial regulations are designed to demonstrate how the council meets these responsibilities.

The Responsible Financial Officer (RFO) is a statutory office (normally the Clerk) and shall be appointed by the council. That appointment is a legal requirement that is required to be minuted annually. The RFO, acting under the policy direction of the Council, shall administer the Council’s financial affairs in accordance with proper practices. The RFO shall determine on behalf of the council its accounting records, and accounting control systems. The RFO shall ensure that the accounting control systems are observed and that the accounting records of the council are maintained and kept up to date in accordance with proper practices.

Internal Statement of Control:

The Internal statement of Control document works alongside the Financial Regulations and supports the Parish Council in ensuring it meets it’s legal financial requirement. The attached document was amended and adopted  by the Parish Council at the meeting held in February 2024.

Financial Risk Assessment:

Working with the Financial Regulations and the Internal Statement of Control is the Financial Risk Assessment. The assessment investigates the risks to the parish council of the public purse that it manages and ensures it looks at opportunities to improve any weaknesses. The Risk Assessment was approved by the Parish Council at the meeting held in February 2024.

Asset Register:

The Parish Council’s Asset Register is a key, important record of Parish owned assets which influences the annual budget by way of management costs, repairs & maintenance, insurance and in building sufficient reserves to replace certain assets in future years. It should be reviewed on an annual basis before the review of the insurance document and before setting of the budget for the following year. The Asset Register forms part of the Annual Governance Audit papers.

A full audit of the Asset Register has taken place in March 2024 and was approved by the Parish Council at the meeting held on the 28th of March 2024. In May 2024 at the Annual meeting of the Parish Council held on the 28th, the council reviewed the replacement insurance costs and approved the Asset Register for the 2024 -2025 year.

Standing Orders:

The standing orders are the written rules of the Parish Council. Standing orders are essential to
regulate the proceedings of a meeting. The Parish Council may also use standing orders to confirm or
refer to various internal organisational and administrative arrangements. The standing
orders of a council are not the same as the policies of a council but standing orders may
refer to them.
Dishforth Parish Council operates within a wide statutory framework. The standing orders
incorporate and reference many statutory requirements to which councils are subject. It is
not possible for the standing orders to contain or reference all the statutory or legal
requirements which apply to the Parish Council. For example, it is not practical for the
standing orders to document all obligations under data protection legislation. The statutory
requirements to which a council is subject apply whether or not they are incorporated in the Parish
Council’s standing orders.

Model standing orders that are in bold type contain legal and statutory requirements and can cannot be amended.
Standing orders not in bold are designed to help the Parish Council operate effectively but they do not
contain statutory requirements so can be amended to suit the needs of the Parish Council. Dishforth standing orders are located at the bottom of the page. The Parish Council reviewed the standing orders at the Annual meeting of the Parish Council on the 28th of May 2024.

Data Protection Requirements:

Dishforth Parish Council is a not-for-profit organisation that handles personal data information from parishioners and members of the public. Due to the handling of the personal data information the Parish Council is required by Law to pay a data protection fee to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

That data protection fee is an annual requirement. Please see below the Certificate from the ICO which confirms that fee has been paid and that Dishforth Parish Council is complying with it’s requirements.

 

The Parish Council thanks you for taking the time to read this page and if there are any questions please contact our Parish Clerk Jill Davis. Email: parishclerk@dishforthpc.org.uk

Asset Register 2024-2025 (Please click here)

Standing Orders 2024-2025 (Please click here)

Financial Regulations 2023 - 2024 (Please click here)

Statement Of Internal Control 2023 - 2024 (Please click here)

Financial Risk Assessment 2023 - 2024 (Please Click Here)